The 71st Hunger Games: Spiked Maces
by Oceanmistsupporter
Summary: Remember that Hunger Games Katniss remembers that only had spiked maces as weapons? Well, this is how that one played out... T for violence.


I should be worried, but I'm not. Why, you ask? Because this isn't real. So many nights I have spent having nightmares of this event happening. My name called in the reaping. So, I'll just go with the standard protocol. I force my eyes, open and shut, and tell myself: _This isn't real. You are dreaming. Wake up!_

But I don't. I am very much awake, and this is very much happening. This isn't right. What are the chances that my name was the last slip to each the ground? How could that possibly happen?

I watch as the Peacekeepers make their way over to my frozen body, and I force myself to take a step in their direction. I'm shaking like a leaf and I'm pretty sure that I will burst into tears. I try to keep my head high, but like I said, I can't do this. I think of the possibility of taking one of the glass shards and cutting my throat. Surely they couldn't stop me in time? I'm quick. I always have been. There will be no other opportunites to kill myself. Wouldn't a quick swipe to my neck be easier than whatever the arena has waiting for me?

But no. Even if I do kill myself, what good would that bring? I'd be dead, and then they'd have to reap another girl. Two deaths. There's no hope for District 10. District 2 is trained to fight since most of them later become Peacekeepers, and District 3 have experience with electrical wires. What does District 10 have to offer? We know how to wrangle cows? How does that help?

I turn my head, and my eyes fall onto the adult side of the watchers. The boys and the girls are in their own section, and the adults stay near the end. I spot the nineteen year old standing rigid, staring at me. Almost like clockwork, my three brothers come up from behind and grip his shoulders. He practically slumps to the ground, and I stare at him, helpless. Oh, no. I am going off to my death…but what about the ones I'm leaving behind? My brothers and my mother and my father and Flaunter…

Our announcer, Lilith, does a little handmotion to call me up. I want to go up there and be honorable but I can't move. The Peacekeepers are practically pushing me up to the stage. I force myself to obey, because I really don't have a choice, and when they show recaps later, I don't want to be that one tribute every year that has to be dragged up the stage kicking and screaming. I walk onto the stage, hoping no one could see how badly I was shaken.

"Let's have a hand for our newest tribute, Sage McFarland!" Lilith says, trying to fix this whole broken reaping ball situation. Surely that would spark so much controversy with the Capitol. No, no, more for the Districts. Who knows what could happen?

Now my face is burning as I realize what happened. Not only am I royally screwed simply because I will be in the Hunger Games, but now there's a new issue to be concerned about. Last year's Hunger Games weren't exactly successful. Practically all of them died in the same way. Last year, there was an earthquake. The installed dam/river thing the Gamemakers placed broke, and the entire arena flooded. The only District that had a chance at winning was District 4, and they did win. But their victor was deemed insane after the death of her other District partner. I haven't heard much about her recently. I wonder what happened to her.

"We still need to reap our boy tribute!" Lilith says, her eyes beaming. She goes to the undamaged reaping ball, containing only the males' names. I know I don't have to worry about Flaunter being reaped along with me, him being nineteen. I glance over and still see him imprisoned in my brothers' arms.

Lilith takes one delicate slip out of the ball. I watch as she reads the name: "Melvin Ethans."

Melvin Ethans? Where have I heard the name before? My heart wavers in pain when I see the young boy in the crowd. He must be at the most twelve. He's so little… I watch as the crowd looks upset that someone so little must have to go. I actually hope for some other boy to volunteer, because this boy must weigh only eighty pounds. Still, no one steps up for him.

He looks just as terrified as I do. His light baige hair was damp against his forehead, and his dirty flannel simply proves that he is spending his days working with the livestock. Not anymore, though.

"Let's applaud the newest tributes of District 10!" Lilith says with a smile, brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Sage McFarland and Melvin Ethans!"

The crowd nervously claps, mostly because the Peacekeepers are staring them down. Flaunter does not clap. He has dropped to his knees now, looking more helpless than I have ever seen him.

What would I be doing, if he had been younger and was reaped instead of me? There is nothing I could do, but I'd probably be sobbing my eyes out. I stare at the crowds of people below me, their dark eyes trained on me. They probably pity me, as they do any tribute, but they are secretly happy that it isn't them.

There's nothing left I can do as the Peacekeepers assemble around me, and we begin to walk to the train. I get to say goodbye to my friends right before, though.

There are cameras literally following both me and Melvin the entire time. I refuse to meet the cameras and I turn my head away, but Melvin was crying. Doesn't surprise me. I watch as the scrawny twelve-year-old practically huddles next to me, burying his face in his hands, already wet with his own tears. He knew he was going to die. He didn't stand a chance.

I realize this, and I decide that I can no longer watch. I don't care how rebellious this looks. I take Melvin by the shoulder and kiss the top of his head, almost like I was mothering him. It wasn't fair that he got reaped. Not fair at all.

I don't even pay attention to how clean and pretty the train looks. Or how much I stand out with my scruffy, dirty exterior. I'm not going to cry at this very moment. I'm smoldering on the inside, and I don't know why. Everything was fair. But I don't care. I'm not angry for my sake; I'm upset for the family I'm leaving behind. How can I say goodbye?

My mother and father come first. We entangle in some kind of bearhug, and it's clear that both of them have been crying. I look up at the two and say, "Okay. Okay. I understand that this is a hard time…"

My mother bursts into a racking bit of sobs. I go on, "You need to fight through it. I know I'm not going to make it; we all know that. You two still have three boys who will need help." I lower my head and say, "Please don't watch it."

My father looks up at me, his brown eyes widening.

"None of you. Don't watch it. At all." I stiffen and stare at them, intensifying the conversation. "I don't want you to watch me die. You know it won't be pretty."

Both my parents have no words. I just pray that they don't watch it. Please, please don't watch it. Just respect my last wish. I'm seriously considering jumping off a cliff right as the games begin so I won't die painfully. But I might not have enough time.

The Peacekeepers come for them, and right as they leave, I call, "I love you both."

My mother continues to sob, but my father meets my eyes and nods. He mouths, _I'll make sure she'll be okay._ Right as they leave.

The next group that comes is my three brothers. The eldest one, Reveren, holds his arms out. He's twenty two and I know I can trust him to help the family with this new dilemma. I let him hug me, and I also hug the other two.

"Please." I half-whimper. "Please help Mother out. She isn't taking this too well."

"You think any of us are?" Jefferen snaps. He's the second oldest, also the most sarcastic, but it doesn't matter. He's in the reaping, him being eighteen and all.

The youngest one, two years older than me (he's seventeen) steps up and adjusts my dress. "Here's what I want you to do," Levil says in a low voice. "I want you to survive, don't get me wrong, but there's something else I need you to do."

"What?" I ask him.

Levil looks back and forth, then pulls me aside and whispers in my ear. _"No matter what you do…"_ He whispers, hardly understandable. _"Make sure you do it with style."_

Style? What's that supposed to mean? I blink at him, then turn to all of my brothers, "I don't want you three watching."

"Why not?" Jefferen asks.

"I don't want you to watch me die!" I half-wail.

"We can't promise that we won't watch…" Reveren says slowly. "But we can keep Mother from watching. We need to make sure you're okay."

I drop my head. "Please take care of them." I half-whimper.

"We will." They promise.

The Peacekeepers take them away, and I am awarded with one last visitor. As soon as he comes in, we both practically run towards each other and entangle in a hug until there was no room in between us. Now I am in danger of crying, but I know I can't. I know I can't.

"I can't believe this is happening." Flaunter whispers into my shoulder.

"Don't think about it." I murmur. "Don't think about it."

"How can I not?" He pulls away and looks at me angrily. "They're going to kill you. Why are you perfectly calm?"

"Because freaking out about it won't help me!" I protest. I hang my head because it's true. "It's hard, I know, but there's no hope for me now. I need you to help my family through this." My eyes are tearing up but I refuse to let them spill out. I think of everyone I am leaving behind at this very moment, and it's almost too much.

"Sage, can I confess something?" Flaunter asks, his voice barely heard.

Well, this is the last time we will be talking, so why not? "Let's hear it." I mumble.

"I think you actually have a chance to win these games." He says.

"Yeah, right." I scoff. "Only if everyone turns into cows. And then I can wrangle them. That's my only shot."

"You can win," Flaunter lowers his gaze. "If you stay low and kill in the dark. You work well in the dark." I stare at him."Pretend you're one of those snipers that you've heard stories about."

"Don't get your hopes up." I warn. "And…I think it will be best if you didn't watch."

"I have to watch." He growls. "You really think I wouldn't?"

"You really want to see me die?" I gap.

"You aren't going to die." He says firmly. "Not if you use the skills you already know."

I look away. I can see the Peacekeepers gathering outside the train, and I kiss Flaunter, probably the last time ever.

"I love you," He murmurs.

"I love you too." I get out. Now, I let one tear slip out. The Peacekeepers pull him out and I practically lie across the pearl-white couch and close my eyes. I feel the train begin to go and the movement causes me to stumble backward.

Lilith comes in, and shakes my hand. "Congratulations!" She says. She may look somewhat normal, but she still has the capitol accent. "Now, you can really do whatever you want. Dinner is in a half an hour."

Dinner? All I really ate today was the one egg, and some of our tesserae. Nothing much, really. Anyway, I pass the time by sitting, curled up in a fetal position, listening to Melvin sob. It's not smart to cry at this time, but I let him. How can I deny him that right?

I manage to stand up and make myself look at least a _bit_ presentable right before Lilith calls me for dinner. I go into the room, my eyes widening when I see all of the food.

My eyes fall upon the other mentors. There were four or five, but two were probably too old to be of any service. No matter.

I'm starving, but somehow the thought of eating makes me sick. I don't know why. The stress of what was happening was beginning to weigh down on my shoulders. I nearly faint though, when I see that there is some kind of roast on the table. It occurs to me that it came from District 10. We never eat any of the meat we harvest (the upper class are lucky if they do; they must buy it to receive it) and since we are from the poorer side of town, I never eat any of it.

Melvin, who sees the banquet, practically goes insane. He is definitely from one of the poorest sides of town, and has not had enough to eat for one day in his life. He's wearing a tread-bare shirt that hangs around him, so it was hard to see if he had any body fat on him. I doubt it, though.

We make out well on our rations, and we manage to get other food elsewhere. So while I'm starving almost always, but when I do have food, I manage to eat it in a civilized way. I don't know why, but I found doing so can help you to savor it more.

I have never seen anyone pack so much food in, in such a short time. Melvin was acting as if he has never seen food before. Maybe he hasn't. Might as well. He also doesn't seem to know what silverware is.

The mentors look at him with pity in their eyes; surely they remember their days when they starved before they won. One of them clears her throat; I recognize Everess. She won the Hunger Games when I was an infant. I don't remember any of the extra food, but my brothers do.

"Well," She says slowly. Her hair is completely black, but her eyes are light brown, like most people in District 10. "My name is Everess; I'm pretty sure I've seen you two around somewhere. W-We'll be looking forward to training you two."

I give a small nod, and I watch as Melvin takes something out of his pocket. It appears to be a card of some sort; I don't understand. Then it hits me. It's his token.

I reach in my pocket, realizing that I have nothing. Then, I feel it. In the pocket of my dress. Small and crumbled up. I take it out, and unfold it.

It's a picture of me and Reveren, but Flaunter is right above me, pretending to lick my head. The picture makes my heart swell and I put it back in my pocket, tears threatening to spill out. Oh my. I can't do this.

I have to, though. I have to, if I want to see my family again.

It's all a matter of whether or not I can survive.


End file.
